Fonds F0515 - Jean Augustine fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Jean Augustine fonds

General material designation

    Parallel title

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    Title notes

    Level of description

    Fonds

    Reference code

    CA ON00370 F0515

    Edition area

    Edition statement

    Edition statement of responsibility

    Class of material specific details area

    Statement of scale (cartographic)

    Statement of projection (cartographic)

    Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

    Statement of scale (architectural)

    Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

    Dates of creation area

    Date(s)

    • 1950-2005; predominant 1994-2004 (Creation)
      Creator
      Augustine, Jean

    Physical description area

    Physical description

    13.4 m of textual records

    ca. 16,000 photographs

    ca. 10,000 negatives

    ca. 60 compact disks

    ca. 15 computer disks

    ca. 400 paintings and prints

    ca. 670 objects : buttons, flags, cups, etc.

    238 video cassettes

    41 audio cassettes

    Publisher's series area

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    Archival description area

    Name of creator

    (1937 -)

    Biographical history

    Jean M. Augustine (9 September 1937 - ), is a Grenada-born Canadian politician and community organizer. She was the first female candidate of African descent to be elected to Parliament. Augustine was a teacher in Grenada and emigrated to Canada in 1960 under the West Indian Domestic Scheme. She worked as a nanny as required by the program, and acquired her Ontario Teaching Certificate in 1963 and later her B.A. (Hon.) from the University of Toronto. In 1980 she received her M.A.Ed. from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). Augustine worked as a teacher within the Metropolitan Separate School Board, teaching at St. Anthony (1964 - 1970); St. Raymond (1970 - 1975); St. Felix (1975-1979); and St. Francis de Sales (1979-1982, where she was vice-principal). In 1982, Augustine was appointed principal at St. Felix School, a post she held until 1985. She also served as principal at St. Gregory School (1985- 1988). Augustine was a social activist and volunteer within the Caribbean community of Toronto, working on issues such as immigrant and women's rights, violence against women, drug abuse and poverty. She founded several community organizations, including the Grenada Association and the Ontario chapter of the Congress of Black Women of Canada. She was also active in the areas of urban education, black youth and cultural events such as Caribana. In the Spring of 1985, Augustine was appointed by Ontario Premier David Peterson to a "transition team" of citizens to facilitate the transfer of power to the newly-elected Liberal-NDP coalition. On 24 November 1988, she was appointed chair of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority (MTHA), the administrative body for social housing in the city. In 1993, Augustine was appointed by Liberal Party leader Jean Chrétien as a candidate for the federal riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. With her election, Augustine became the first black woman elected to the Parliament of Canada, and later the first black woman in a federal cabinet. Augustine went on to win subsequent federal elections in 1997, 2000, 2002 and 2004. During her time in federal politics, Augustine was Secretary of State for Multiculturalism, and later Multiculturalism and the Status of Women, and was Special Advisor on Grenada. She also acted as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, Deputy Speaker and served three terms as Chair of the National Liberal Women's Caucus. While serving as a federal politician, Augustine sat on a number of committees including the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Canada Africa Parliamentary Group, and the Canadian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development. She also participated on international boards and associations related to women's issues, human rights, AIDS/HIV, micro credit, population and development, economic development and industry, Africa, immigrant rights, racism and xenophobia. Augustine was part of a Canadian team of election observers during the 1994 election campaign in South Africa, and participated on foreign conferences and delegations for the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD), the World Food Organization, and the World Summit of Women. Jean Augustine was instrumental in establishing the first national recognition of February as Black History Month in 1996. Augustine retired from politics in November 2005. She was later appointed in March 2007 as Fairness Commissioner of Ontario, to advocate on the behalf of immigrants seeking to have their foreign credentials validated in the province.

    Custodial history

    Scope and content

    Fonds consists of the professional records of Jean Augustine, including documents, reports, speech notes, press releases and publications relating to her activities as a community activist and volunteer; a elementary school teacher; her administration of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority; her participation on various international, national, provincial and municipal advocacy boards organizations and associations; and her activities as a federal politician and member of cabinet.

    Notes area

    Physical condition

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Donated by Jean Augustine in 2007.

    Arrangement

    Language of material

    • English

    Script of material

    • Latin

    Location of originals

    Availability of other formats

    Restrictions on access

    Some files restricted due to third party personal information. Access to some files permitted only through a research agreement. Requests must be directed to the University Archivist.

    Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

    Associated materials

    Related materials

    Accruals

    The fonds comprises the following accession: 2007-022. Further accruals may be expected.

    Alternative identifier(s)

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    Standard number

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    Control area

    Description record identifier

    F0515

    Institution identifier

    ON00370

    Rules or conventions

    Status

    Final

    Level of detail

    Full

    Dates of creation, revision and deletion

    Fonds-level description created: 2007/06/27.
    Date of last revision: 2008/10/24.
    Uploaded to Archeion: 2012/03/28.

    Language of description

    • English

    Script of description

    • Latin

    Sources

    Accession area